uxmelina

I haven’t bought my own domain name, I don’t post on a daily basis, I prefer conversation over comments, I love my friends more then my followers, I don’t care about my page rank, I don’t live for the blog-o-sphere, I rarely check my blog stats, I choose human interaction over computer interaction, I may be separated by six degrees but connected closely to more then 6 people. This is me right now maybe not tomorrow…stay tuned.

I thought I should post that, since I’ve clearly been neglecting this “blog” since I’ve been busy with things in my “life-o-sphere”. Here are the highlights:

1. I got a job for the summer! I’m working as an Interaction Designer for VMware in Palo Alto, CA. I’m very excited about moving there!

2. The OLPC project is coming along nicely. I will post some stuff here soon.

3. The Disney project (and the OLPC project) has me bogged down learning flash, if you have any great links to tutorials please share.

4. Explorations, an event I help plan and organize with other 100 volunteers and 1200 visitors was a great success! The event invited the public to the University to encourage technical careers to kids in grade 6, 7, and 8!

I’m sure this isn’t anything new, as the plush toy-web 2.0 hybrid was first sold in 2005, but Webkinz have caught my eye. Tonight, I volunteered with a local Girl Guide group to help the girls earn their computer badge. The uber excited 9 and 10 year old school kids ended up teaching me more then I may have tough them. The Webkin-addicted crowd wasn’t far from the facebook obsession seen in university students. As the girls bragged about the number of pets, “kinzcash”, or virtual possessions, they also complained about their school banning the web site, and parents limiting the number of pets and the number of hours they can spend in this virtual world.

So, what is it?

If you are like me, and had never heard about them. Webkinz are small stuff animals that can be purchased at a toy store. After bringing your traditional toy home, you can use the secret pass code, to adopt the same pet into the a virtual world. Name and gender is the child’s choice. Now, they are ready to go with their slightly personalized friend. Armed with “Kinzcash” (the virtual currency) the kids can buy accessories to furnish their pets homes or food for their not so furry friend. Now, this is where it gets interesting. The initial funds are limited, so the child has to get a job, maintain a garden, or do a variety of other tasks to earn money to support this virtual pet! Most of the tasks seem to have some learning aspect as the child moves through the levels.

Oh wait? Playing alone isn’t any fun, no worries. In Webkinz your pet can actually get into the fun by adopting their own pet, yes a pet for your pet! Or invite your friends to chat with you by using the preset sentences to ensure children aren’t giving out personal information!

Interacting in a virtual world isn’t anything new. Very similar to the adult virtual world, Second Life, Webkinz is nothing more then another example of technology evolving into a child-targeted version. We have seen it in the Firefly cell phone, Fisher Price’s Smart Cycle, and now Web 2.0.

So what’s next?

This is why I’m interested in these kids. My next academic term (Jan-April 2008) I will be working on a design project. The details are unknown but the scope is pretty flexible. Our team is currently only made up of myself and 2 other students all with strong backgrounds in user centered design as well as human factors. We are in the early stages of the design process trying to define the scope of the project by looking a new and cutting edge applications to interaction design. Along with collaborative workspace and learning environments, targeting children has also been discussed. Their limited cognitive abilities could offer a fun challenge into the project. I will keep you posted about what we end up deciding!